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Johannesburg - Liberty Health, the healthcare business of listed wealth management group Liberty Holdings, has acquired about 500 000 customers in the last 10 months, but is keeping an eye on the government and its participation in the sector.
"We're taking market share," said CEO Peter Botha in an interview with Fin24.com. He attributed much of the group's success to technology and a packaged healthcare offering that includes health insurance and other risk products.
"You have to have a packaged offering and you have to have scale to be effective in this market," said Botha.
The group's relationship with its parent company and Standard Bank - which already has a strong presence in the market - has proven to be a competitive advantage.
Liberty Health administers healthcare policies in countries which include Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa and Malawi from Cape Town. It is enabled to do so by technology from healthcare systems developer Neil Harvey & Associates, a business Liberty Health bought in 2008.
Asked how difficult it was to be doing business in Africa, Botha said while there are challenges, it isn't nearly as unsophisticated as many people think.
"Satellite connectivity over Africa is excellent and infrastructure is improving all the time," he said.
Also, while Africa is largely a "cash-based economy", Liberty Health concludes its contracts with corporate clients as opposed to individual members. This reduces the risk and administration involved in chasing and managing individual members.
A development Botha is watching out for is the anticipated entry of government into the local healthcare insurance sector. He said that it will fundamentally change the role of industry participants, including medical insurers and private hospital players.
Botha said government would play an increasingly larger role in the South African healthcare space over the next five to 10 years, in the form of a government managed compulsory health insurance.
This may place government at loggerheads with existing healthcare insurers.
He said: "It's something we definitely need to be aware of, and has been one of the reasons why we've moved aggressively into Africa." The group is expected to start operating in Mozambique, Nigeria, Zambia, Angola, South Sudan and Lesotho within six months.
- Fin24.com